Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck may be divorced, but they’re not letting that interfere with their business relationship.
J.Lo stars in the new movie “Kiss of the Spider Woman.” Her divorce from the Oscar winner was finalized while she was making the film, which boasts her and Affleck as executive producers. She says he is a big reason the project saw the light of day.
“If it wasn’t for Ben, the movie wouldn’t have (gotten) made, and I will always give him that credit,” she said Oct. 6 while appearing on TODAY.
Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez split in 2024.Christopher Polk / Getty Images
Lopez also said the movie was cathartic for her.
“Things happen. You have to keep going,” she said.
“But, it’s funny. The movie is about escapism. It’s about how movies and art save us in the hardest times of our lives. And doing this project was such a dream come true for me that it really got me through, to kind of survive a moment that was difficult in my personal life, as well.
“So, after that, I took some time off and now we’re back. And I’m really excited for everybody to see this film. It’s a beautiful film about love.”
Jennifer Lopez, seen here in “Kiss of the Spider Woman,” says Ben Affleck is responsible for the movie getting made.
/ Courtesy Roadside Attractions
Craig Melvin then pointed out the movie “may have helped save” Lopez, too.
“It did. It did,” she concurred.
Lopez and Affleck’s love story was one of the most heavily scrutinized public relationships in Hollywood history. The couple got engaged in 2002, but they eventually called off their wedding and split, due in part to the intense media coverage they received.
Jennifer Lopez headlines “Kiss of the Spider Woman.”Courtesy Roadside Attractions
Lopez would go on to marry and divorce Marc Anthony, with whom she has two kids, and become engaged to Alex Rodriguez, before they broke up.
Affleck married Jennifer Garner, with whom he shares three children, before they divorced.
Affleck and Lopez would reconnect and got engaged in 2022 and married that same year before she filed for divorce in 2024.
“Kiss of the Spider Woman,” which is based on the 1976 novel by Manuel Puig and has already been on Broadway and been made into a 1985 movie with William Hurt and Raul Julia, opens Oct. 10.